Hearing Damage
by ChameleonxSoul
Summary: Kakashi and Sakura are sent to investigate an attack on an allied village. But when rules are broken and they're forced to go against their loyalty, they are thrown into a world of turmoil that can only be ended one way... Rated M for adult content in later chapters. KakaSaku.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey, Readers (who I hope exist!), welcome to this fanfic - I really hope you'll stick with me and leave, preferably, lovely reviews :) It's been so long since I've written anything, fanfic or original so it's great to be getting back into it. I have so many plans for this story so I fingers crossed some of you enjoy reading it as much I know I'll have fun writing it.

xx

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**TO SEE THROUGH DECEPTION**

**_PROLOGUE_**

**_-DAY 341-_**

_She stood against the rail facing away from Kakashi, the vastness of the dunes sprawled out beneath them and blurred together on the wavering horizon. The late sun wrapped the desert in a soft orange glow as it filtered through the sandy haze that hung in the air and tinted Sakura's hair a shade of dusty rose. It had grown out since she'd left Konoha almost a year ago and now fell to the curve of her back. Pale skin peeked out through slashes in her dark leggings and one sleeve of her black tunic was torn. A gust of wind swept up from below and invisible fingers combed through her hair and rattled the prisoner's chains. It was a melancholy sound, a sad but mocking ring that always jerked her back to reality even if her thoughts were as far away as her past._

_The wind died and pink locks brushed against Kakashi's wrist where his hand settled against her lower back. He tightened his hold on her cuffs and took a step closer to his former student. Sakura could feel him behind her and although she had grown up, she only stood to the height of his shoulders. All she wanted to do was close the distance and collapse back into his chest and wrap his arms tightly around her. That's where it was safe._

_"Kakashi," she said at almost a whisper and her voice gave away all the emotion she was fighting to suppress. She wasn't sure why she'd said his name. Perhaps it was to hear his voice and know he was there, or maybe to tell him something. All she knew was that his name tasted different on her tongue now and every time she said it an invisible hand squeezed her heart a little tighter. He looked down and exhaled and Sakura felt his hand clench against her back and knew that was closest she would get to him now._

_"Do it," a rough voice commanded. Kakashi pushed his hand against the nape of her neck, the other still keeping its firm hold on the cuffs that bound her wrists behind her back. He moved her to the gap in the rails where the cliff dropped straight out from under them and positioned her so her heels stuck out over the edge. He took the two chains attached to her chakra-suppressing irons and fastened them to the rails on either side of her before stepping away. She stared at his single, dark eye like she was trying to tell him a million things with one look and wondered how everything had gotten so out of hand. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if this was what it was like for Sasuke..._

_Kakashi held her stare and she saw his mouth move beneath his mask. She shut her eyes tightly and felt her heart drumming in her chest. A bright blue light flashed behind her closed eyes and jittering screeches filled the air. When she was hit it was with so much force that it felt like her spine had been torn from her body. The ground rushed out from underneath her and the electricity lashed around her with a bite like barbed wire._

_And then she was falling... Falling, falling, falling. Dead silence rang in her ears and her world went black before the ground rushed up to meet her._

* * *

_**-DAY 1-**_

The pink-haired kunoichi glanced from the framed photo on her dresser to her reflection. Critical eyes stared back at her as she subconsciously rolled her lower lip between her teeth, like she was peering down the lens of her microscope, only instead of a sample the subject of her analysis was herself. She was nineteen now and a far cry from the grinning, clueless genin in the centre of her team photograph. Those days were a lifetime ago. She undid the tiny latch on the back of the frame and removed the picture. It had faded considerably and creases gnawed at all the edges; both side-effects of the medical-nin carrying it with her on every mission since Team Seven's disbandment. Originally it had been so that she would never forget why she trained so hard, but ever since Sasuke's return, taking the old photograph on missions with her had become something of both habit and ritual. When things got particularly hard, it was also nice to have a reminder of simpler times, when the only thing that seemed to matter to her was winning the heart of her troubled teammate. But those days were long gone now.

Sakura sighed and smoothed a thumb over her twelve-year-old face. The little girl in the photo was so blissfully happy and overflowing with childish ideas of her future that it almost hurt to think about them seven years later. She looked back to her reflection again and although she still shared most of the same physical characteristics as her younger self, she would have been lying if she said she recognised the kid in the photo. Her hair was now shorter and brushed the tops of her shoulders while her face had thinned out into feminine curves, as had the rest of her body. Thankfully, she had also grown into her forehead a little more. But none of that compared to the change she saw in her eyes; the glimmering, child-like excitement had vanished to make way for the ghosts of all the misfortunes shinobi witnessed on a regular basis. But when she considered it, she was glad to have their company as those ghosts had since become the source of her determination and motivation to grow stronger.

The corner of her lip curled up slightly and she tucked the photo of Team Seven into her pouch, straightened her red vest and left to meet with Tsunade regarding an impending mission. It had been so long since she'd last left Konoha on a real job and although she adored her work at the hospital, it was refreshing to keep on walking past the large, clinical building for a change. Her eyes drifted up to the Hokage Residence over-looking the village, the grand red walls stood out regally amongst the sea of muted rooftops. Her stomach fluttered with anticipation at the sight of it and she hoped her combat skills hadn't dwindled with all the time she spent hunched over a microscope or trawling through textbooks and patient charts.

_Nothing a little spar on the road wouldn't fix,_ she thought and smirked at the idea hammering her fist into Naruto's head - not that she needed a practice fight to do that; almost every time the blonde man opened his mouth he was practically begging for a beating. Sakura glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see her comrade bounding up the street behind her but when all she saw was peace and quiet she figured he was probably already waiting outside Tsunade's office. But when she finally reached the top of the spiral staircase she wasn't greeted by a blur of limitless enthusiasm, just an empty corridor. Not even Sasuke, who had been making an extra effort since his return, had arrived yet.

"Hm," she toned, feeling a little deflated as she checked the time. She still had fifteen minutes before Tsunade expected her anyway.

"Ah, Sakura," a lazy voice came from behind her and from the upward infliction of his tone she could tell he was smiling.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura spun quickly, surprised by his presence. She had never known her former teacher to be _early_... He gave her his usual half-hearted wave and leant against the opposite wall with his hands tucked in his pockets.

"Surely you were expecting me," the Copy-nin said and slight amusement carried through in his voice.

"I was," Sakura began. "But not for at least another hour."

Kakashi chuckled softly beneath his dark mask. "Well... I would rather be early than set off Konoha's two worst tempers, especially since Naruto won't be here to take most of the fire."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips before realising what he'd said. "Wait, what? Why wouldn't Naruto be here?" _He's probably been sent off somewhere important with Jiraiya and I'm let with the dregs..._

"This one's just you and me, Sakura," Kakashi said.

"Oh..." Sakura couldn't help feeling a little discouraged, both at the realisation that her fellow teammates wouldn't be joining them, and the obvious fact that this mission was nothing to get excited over. _Tsunade_ _really must think I'm that out of practice that I can't handle real missions... Great._

"Something wrong?" Kakashi asked, his tone as genuine as it always was at the first sign of his former student's self-doubt. She had always been a little delicate when it came to proving herself, even though she had nothing to worry about. He knew she could demolish the entire building they were standing in if she wanted, but growing up alongside hotheads like Naruto and Sasuke who both possessed their own unique powers and abilities, Kakashi knew Sakura had always felt a little left behind.

"It's nothing," she shrugged. "I was just hoping for a mission a little more dangerous than something that only needed two people, you know... It's been a while since I've been outside the village. I guess Lady Tsunade doesn't think I'm up to it."

If Sakura's eyes hadn't been fixed to the floorboards she might have noticed Kakashi's lips curve into a crooked smile beneath his mask. "I wouldn't go underestimating Tsunade's intentions that easily, Sakura."

"Huh?" the kunoichi glanced up at the Copy-nin but before she had a chance to ask him what he'd meant, the door behind her swung open and Shizune called them both inside.

The blonde Hokage glanced up at the two shinobi as she finished the last of her paperwork and set the stack of mission requests aside. She leaned forward and propped her elbows up on the desktop as she eyed Kakashi with raised eyebrows. Sakura followed her sharp gaze to see her former sensei's single dark eye close as he smiled at his superior, before resuming it's usual, lazy expression.

"And here I was thinking I could catch up on all this paperwork because Kakashi Hatake is _never_ on time," she mused out-loud.

"You're a hard woman to please, Tsunade," the Copy-nin returned her banter.

"Yes, I know." Tsunade selected the file on top of the stack beside her and flipped it open. "Your mission..." she announced and Sakura sighed deeply as though she was preparing herself for disappointment. Her eyes turned downcast again and her rose bangs fell forward with the subtle movement. In a formal gesture she clasped her hands behind her back and waited. "Is A-ranked."

_A-ranked...?!_

Sakura's jade eyes flicked up to meet Tsunade's and her stomach fluttered with that same anticipation she had felt on her way to the Hokage Residence earlier that morning. Had she heard her mentor correctly? There was no way... It was unheard of to send only two shinobi on such a highly ranked mission. Sakura chanced a glance at Kakashi who kept his attention trained on Tsunade; if he was as surprised as she was, he was doing an excellent job of concealing it.

_Huh, so he knew all along... And that's what he must have meant outside, before... _the pink-haired ninja thought.

"There's a small village tucked away in the desert," Tsunade began. "Recently it was ransacked by a convoy of rouge ninja. I've already sent most of the Leaf's jonin out to investigate and help protect the survivors but the village is lacking their own experienced medics. Sakura, as I obviously can't go to assist them, you're going to go in my place and teach them everything you know. While you're there you will also help Kakashi investigate and mark my words, these criminals are sick, ruthless beings. But I know you can handle it."

"Yes, Milady," Sakura nodded. A determined frown crossed her brow as she wrapped her head around the news, but she couldn't wonder why Gaara's forces weren't sent in instead... But she knew better than to question the reasons behind the mission when all she wanted was to be out in the field again. Even if most of her time was going to be spent teaching the village's medics, at least she was guaranteed some grittier action with the investigation. She swallowed thickly, wondering what sort of awful carnage they would be met with on their arrival; she knew firsthand how serious and brutal these attacks were and one usually meant more were on the way...

"If you're wondering why your teammates won't be joining you, it's because I need to keep some of my strongest shinobi here, in case the attacks reach the Leaf..." Tsunade added, her words trailing off as though the true severity of the situation was something she wanted to keep on a need-to-know basis. Especially since she used the word _attacks_... On the surface Sakura supposed a mission like this wouldn't usually be considered A-ranked, but she was beginning to realise there was a lot more to the situation than what their Hokage was telling them.

Tsunade cleared her throat and shuffled the pages of the mission back into the file. "You'll leave at dusk," she said with a tone of finality which promoted Kakashi and Sakura's cue to go.

"Oh... One last thing," their leader hesitated and Sakura looked back to see Tsunade's deceptively youthful face taught with worry. She rose from her desk and opened her mouth as if to say something but changed her mind. "...Good luck," she said instead and sent the two shinobi on their way.

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**A/N:** Okay, so there's the first chapter - if you like it please tell me; it's very encouraging :) I think I'm going to have fun with this one ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hi! I hope any followers enjoyed the first chapter, as short as it was. YES I have changed the titles, I always tend to do that with any story I write - once I start to get into it and get the tone going the right title just comes to me. Of course this one is from a song that largely inspired the path I want this story to take.

I also should have mentioned that for the most part this fic will abide by the canon but some (mostly unimportant) elements are a little AU - nothing to super drastic though, promise. **ALSO****...** I'm going overseas next week for three weeks - I'll try as hard as I can to post another chapter before I leave but that might just be a little bit impossible :( but I'll have plenty of time on the plane to write one ready for when I get home :) sorry!

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**_-DAY 1, CONTINUED-_**

Kakashi squinted against the rush of the wind as they flew through the tree tops. Despite his always cool and calm demeanour, his mind had been churning since he and Sakura had left the village. The Copy-nin had already memorised the details of the mission. Tsunade had met with him the day before to appoint him as the leader of their assignment, yet he still had the uneasy feeling that she was keeping something to herself. The one thing that didn't sit right with him was why she was essentially giving Sakura two missions instead of just sending another person to help. Teaching rookie medical ninja _and_ assisting with the investigation was a big ask and he was sure something would eventually have to give. No matter how planned a mission was or experienced the shinobi, there was zero guarantee that it would turn out for the best. However, despite his suspicions, he had the utmost faith in his superior and knew from experience that she wouldn't risk putting their lives in unnecessary danger; what he had been told about the mission must have have been enough to complete it successfully... Or at least, that's what Kakashi told himself.

As for Sakura, he wasn't worried that she couldn't handle the pressure; Kakashi had no doubt that she would put everything she had into the mission, which was why he was concerned that she might overwork herself. He sighed and looked up at the sky. A scattering of stars were beginning to fade into view against the thick black. It was well past dusk; they had been travelling for hours and he guessed it was almost midnight. He could hear Sakura kicking off from the branches behind him but in the last half hour her footsteps and started to drop back. The Copy-nin slowed his pace and let her catch up to him.

"What are you doing?" Sakura half turned as she sprung past him and landed on another branch.

"Calling it a night, you're getting tired," Kakashi said and dropped silently to the ground.

Sakura followed him and landed delicately on her feet. "I'm fine."

"I've been on every mission with you," he said with a shrug. "I know your limits."

Sakura inwardly sighed and took her pack off while Kakashi started the fire. There was no point arguing with him; he was right. Their mission had been assigned at such short notice that she hadn't had time to rejuvenate before heading out and now that they'd finally stopped for a break she was really starting to feel it. The kunoichi rolled her swag out by the fire and sat down with an exasperated sigh.

"I told you," Kakashi said from across the fire and Sakura half rolled her eyes at him. She flopped onto her back and tucked her elbow behind her head for a pillow. The full leaves blotted out most of the night sky but here and there she could still catch silverly glimpses of the brightest stars. She dragged her pack over and dug around blindly until she found her canteen. It wasn't until the water, made cool by dewy night, touched her lips that she realised how thirsty she was and had to remind herself that she still had another full day of travel before they would be able to top up. She closed her eyes and focused on letting her chakra get rid of the lactic acid build up in her muscles, not sure if it was the warm heat radiating from the fire that was making her feel more lethargic than she actually was.

"So I take it I'm on the first watch, then?" Kakashi said after a moment.

A small smile pulled at the corner of Sakura's mouth and she gave a single nod. "Wake me up in two hours."

* * *

Kakashi perched in the crook of the tree where the branch met the trunk and rested his back against the ancient wood. The forest was full of nocturnal noises and his keen sense of smell was overrun by the dewy wetness of the night air. The camp fire simmered dully as the last of the wood provided enough fuel to cast deep, dark shadows pulsating amongst the trees. Sakura was fast asleep with her back to the dying flames and thirty minutes had passed since Kakashi was supposed to wake her up. But he couldn't. Two hours of sleep wasn't enough and there was no use in both of them being off their game when morning came around.

"Summoning jutsu..." Kakashi muttered with the accompanying hand signals and in a pop of smoke, Pakkun appeared on the branch before him.

"Wha'd'ya need, Boss?" the pug said in his uncharacteristically gruff voice.

Kakashi stood and stretched his neck. "Keep watch for a few hours."

"What about Floral Green?" Pakkun said, referring to the sleeping the kunoichi below. The nickname came from the fact that both he and Sakura used the same shampoo, but he would never call her that to her face unless he had a death wish.

"Early start, I don't want her tired." The Copy-nin dipped his hand into his pouch and flicked Pakkun a dog biscuit.

"You got it, Boss." The gutsy little dog went to claim his reward but stopped. His nose wrinkled as he sniffed the air and trailed his way to Kakashi's sleeve. "Boss..." Pakkun's voice took on a warning tone.

"What?" Kakashi said, watching the camp. He sounded indifferent, like he didn't care that he'd been sprung but in actual fact he did.

"I thought you were gonna stop that." The pug sat and gave him the sternest look possible for a dog.

"It's the anniversary of Asuma's death," he half lied. "It's a memorial thing."

"If you say so..." Pakkun muttered, obviously not buying his master's excuse. He picked up the treat between his teeth and went to sit at the end of the branch while Kakashi returned to the camp.

For the most part, it was true; he did let himself smoke one cigarette for Asuma every year on the date of his death, but lately his ritual had slipped from something annual, to monthly, to weekly and now often daily. For someone so regimented, he knew it wasn't his normal behaviour but now it had been going on for so long that he wasn't sure if there ever was a reason he'd started again, or if he'd just denied it for so long that he'd forgotten.

The fire was now nothing but a pile of glowing embers and a thin plume of smoke drifted into the air, white against the black night. Kakashi untied his headband and roughed his hand through his unruly hair, he set himself up against one of the trees and tucked his rolled up flak jacket behind his neck. He never liked to sleep lying down whenever he was on a mission; he felt far too vulnerable and although they were unlikely to run into any trouble before crossing the boarder, he wasn't about to take any chances, especially with a smaller team.

With the amount of missions now outweighing the number of available of shinobi, most teams had to take on spilt missions to get the work done and as of late Sakura and Kakashi had been teamed up alone for most of their assignments, leaving Naruto and Sai as their own pair. Occasionally Sasuke got to tag along on missions, but only the shorter, lower ranked tasks. He still hadn't fully regained the trust of Tsunade and the village elders and so he spent most of his days training under close supervision.

If it was possible, Sakura and Sasuke shared even less of a bond now that the troubled Uchiha had returned to Konoha. Sakura had tried to make conversation with him on regular occasions, but soon realised things would never go back to the way they were before. Sasuke's past was like the elephant in the room and everyone knew better than to talk to him about it. It was because of this that Kakashi requested in private that Sakura would be paired with him first whenever their team was divided. Although she denied it with every fibre of her being, Kakashi always saw through her lies and knew how difficult it was for the kunoichi to work alongside her childhood crush.

Sometimes it was so uncomfortable that Sakura _wished_ their lack of connection was simply because he wasn't interested in her, just like the old days. But now Sasuke's one word answers were full of guilt, pain and emptiness instead of the simple indifference that Sakura couldn't believe she actually missed. She had spent many nights laying awake searching the plain white plaster of her ceiling for the answers and she often wondered if the reason she cared so much was because somewhere inside she still harboured feelings for her teammate.

In the long years between Sasuke's departure and the present, Sakura had come to attach those feelings to others. She had grown up well and it wasn't uncommon for the pink-haired woman to be asked out on a date, but no matter how hard she tried, she could never commit. Somewhere in the seven years that had past she had convinced herself that she could trust the single life more than the men who persisted on anything more than a second date. She was the one who called the shots and as long as she broke it off first, no one else could ever leave her again. She had knitted herself a security blanket out of everything that scared her and it was as strong as the kunoichi's own strength.

Kakashi sighed deeply and scanned the forest one last time before closing his eyes for sleep.

* * *

**_-DAY 2-_**

Sakura awoke suddenly and her heart skipped a beat when the first thing she saw was the pale wash of the sky.

"Morning, Sakura," Kakashi said from over the top of his Icha Icha book. His pack was slung over his shoulders and his headband back in place, even the remnants of last night's fire had been cleared away, leaving no trace of their presence.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she almost shouted. Drowsiness and confusion muddled her senses and her head throbbed from standing up too quickly. "I was going to take over so you could sleep, how do you expect to make it through the day without _any_ rest?"

Kakashi's onyx eye went back to his novel. "Well, you seemed like you really needed the sleep; remember you haven't been out in the field for a long time. Don't worry," he said reassuringly, "I had Pakkun watch over us instead."

Sakura groaned irritably and pressed a palm to the side of her head as she let her headache subside. "We're a team, remember. Let me help next time, okay..." She knew Kakashi was only looking out for her and she really _had _needed the sleep but at the same time she hated feeling looked after, even if it was over something as simple as keeping guard over night. She was already worried that she was out of practice, the last thing she needed was Kakashi treating her differently over it. Sakura muttered something under her breath before packing her bag and joining him as they headed back to the road.

"So, were you worried about your old sensei?" Kakashi said in his usual lazy, yet oddly amused tone.

"Please," she scoffed. "I bet you just wanted an excuse to read your porn."

The silver-haired man smirked beneath his mask and tucked his free hand into his pocket as he walked. "You got me," he sighed sarcastically, still buried in the smutty pages. Whether or not he was actually reading, Sakura couldn't tell.

"They're a bad influence on you, Sensei," Sakura shook her head and clicked her tongue.

She saw his smirk extend further and this time he turned slightly to look at her with his single eye. "That all depends on your definition of 'bad', Sakura," he said with extra emphasis on her name and then turned back to his on-the-road, and for that matter everywhere-else, entertainment. "I know plenty of women who thank the gods every day that I've read these books."

That was no surprise. Kakashi was Konoha's resident pervert and a frequent womaniser. Although she had never seen him on an actual date or with a woman outside their work duties, she had definitely heard the rumours of his reputation. "You really do have no shame at all, do you?" Sakura said as though it wasn't a question and thought how ironic it was that someone who kept as many secrets as Kakashi could be so openly honest about something that most people treated as taboo.

"Not really, no," he answered without so much as a second thought.

Sakura had never known Kakashi without his written porn; as far as she was concerned, it was basically an extension of his arm. She had tried to read one of his books once, just to see what all the fuss was about, but with every turn of the page all she could think was that those sultry, sexy 'plotlines' were a product of Jiraiya's perverted imagination, and that Kakashi had also read those same words. She couldn't deny, though, that the few chapters she had made it through hadn't failed to get her a little hot and bothered and she wondered if they had the same effect on Kakashi... Surely they had too. It's not like the plot was anything spectacular so why else would he be such an avid Icha Icha fan? And then as if her mind acted on its own accord, she wondered if Kakashi was like the characters in the novels and if he liked the same things they did. Maybe he even did the same-

_Sakura!_

She suddenly scolded herself for letting her mind run so wild and she prayed for a distraction before he noticed the fleeting tangent her mind had suddenly taken.

"Anyway, it's not like you can talk," Kakashi said casually.

That was definitely not the distraction she had hoped for. Sakura's eyes went wide and her first, impossible thought was that he had somehow read her mind. "What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped defensively and Kakashi knew he had his toe on the line, but he hardly cared; stoking the deadly fire that was Sakura's temper would be good for getting her back into the right mindset for fighting.

The Copy-nin snapped the little green book shut and tucked it away. "Nothing. Come on, let's see how rusty you are."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Kakashi as he walked ahead and turned to face her. He gestured with his arms out as if to ask what she was waiting for and there was a glint in his eye that begged her to take revenge for his cryptic teasing. She raised a pink eyebrow and before Kakashi even had the chance to open his Sharingan, three kunai were hurtling straight for him.

With speed and agility that still amazed Sakura, even after years of watching him in action, the silver-haired ninja suddenly leapt to the side and rolled out of the way. Without hesitation Sakura raised her fist and pounded it directly into the ground, causing the terrain to split open and buckle as a monstrous crack chased Kaskashi who continued to dodge at every last second. The kunoichi kept her fist in the ground and her eyes trained on her former sensei as she let her chakra tear the ground apart after him. But he moved so fast he was barely more than a green and silver blur that quickly disappeared amongst the upheaval of the earth. Sakura cursed under her breath and ceased her chakra flow.

When the dust settled, she peered over the edge of the newly formed chasm and expected to see her former sensei hiding in the rubble, but all there was was shattered rock and clay and splintered tree trunks. The kunoichi stepped back as her eyes went to the tree tops. She turned in a slow circle, scanning her surroundings carefully and listening for any irregularities; the faint rustle of leaves, a bird chirping too suddenly, a quick gush of wind…

Nothing. The forest was completely still. Too still, almost. It was as though she had been alone from the beginning, but she knew all too well that he was closer than she thought and the smartest thing to do would be to wait for him to come to her. One step in any direction and she knew from experience that she could be walking right into one of his traps.

"Sakura, behind you."

A small gasp told Kakashi that despite Sakura's efforts, he'd caught her by surprise and for a second her mind flashed back to her first day as part of Team Seven when he had snuck up on her in the same way. She whipped around to face him and was barely given enough time to change tack and backflip out of the way as his fist flew at her face. He was at her again before she had time to steady to take a stance and all she could do was duck and dodge until she'd put enough space between them to retalitate with her own attack.

"Seems like you've lost the pace a little, Hunaro," Kakashi said and Sakura knew he was deliberately trying to aggravate her to push her to fight harder.

"I nearly had you the first time!" She yelled and launched at him with her fist raised high, intent on smashing his skull in for teasing her. Half a second before he stepped to the side she could have sworn she saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise, but whatever ego boost his initial reaction gave her dissipated when he grabbed her wrist and used her momentum to slam her into the dirt. She winced when the hard ground collided with her body and knocked the air from her lungs with a painful punch.

"_Shit,"_ she hissed and spat the dirt from her mouth. Kakashi knelt over her and pinned her wrists on either side of her head. She kicked against his grip but it only made him tighten his vice. Her temper flared viciously when she heard him chuckle, but she knew that she'd been beaten. Sakura scolded herself. That fight had ended _far_ too quickly.

"I see you haven't lost any of that strength," the Copy-nin said and glanced up at the chasm that extended out before them.

"I can still take you," she wriggled again.

"Can you, though?" Kakashi said as more of a statement rather than a question. "Combat lesson one-oh-one; never let your enemy sneak up behind-"

"Yeah, yeah I get it," Sakura spat impatiently. "Just let me up."

Kakashi released his hold on her and offered his hand to help her up, a gesture to which Sakura just replied with a burning glare. She dusted herself off and readjusted her pack on her hips.

"Let's go," she said sternly and marched past Kakashi. On the outside it may not have seemed like it, but if truth be told Sakura was worried. She knew her training had become a second priority while she had been so busy at the hospital; she simply did not have the time or energy to practice her battle skills everyday. She remembered what Kakashi had told her while they were waiting to see Tsunade and tried to put her concern down to over thinking the situation again. Sakura knew he hadn't just told her what she wanted to hear; apart from always being the first person to truly believe in her, Kakashi had always been honest with her. But what if they're little spar had been enough to prove him wrong? The last thing she wanted was to let him and Lady Tsunade down. Perhaps this mission was just too much too soon.

She clenched her fists and shook her hair, as though she was trying to shake the mess of thoughts from her mind. It had only been a few months since her last mission and Sakura knew it wouldn't take long at all to sharpen her skills; all she needed was a solid day of drills to regain her fitness level, but the whole thing was just one huge inconvenience that she didn't need. And neither did Kakashi.

"You know, you shouldn't beat yourself up so quickly," he said after they had been walking for a while, almost as though he had read her mind. He always did have a way of knowing exactly how she felt.

"I know," Sakura's tone was bitter. "In my state, everyone I face will do it for me."

Kakashi frowned slightly at her but she didn't meet his gaze. "You know that's not what I meant," he said and Sakura noticed that his voice had adopted a gentler tone.

She looked up at him and nodded before letting her eyes find the ground ahead of them again. "Yeah, I know..." she said. _But I'm always the weakest in the team._

Kakashi gave his former student a reassuring smile and patted her shoulder, just like he had so many times before since the beginning of Team Seven. It was a simple gesture that seemed almost meaningless on the outside but to Sakura it was like an anchor that held her in place and reminded her that there would always be someone who believed in her, even over the smallest of things. She couldn't help but smile a little and wondered if Kakashi knew just how much his companionship meant to her.

"Come on," he said. "We're making good time." And in an instant they were flying through the forest canopy once again at breakneck speed.

* * *

When the sun began to set, the shinobi pair booked into a small bath house just past their country's boarder. The two-storey building was nestled amongst a forest of trees hugging the base of a mountain that pushed up into the clouds. They were shown to their room on the second floor and Sakura took the bed by the window while Kakashi claimed the one pushed up against the opposite wall. The room was small but homely with polished wooden floors, mute-coloured curtains and simple, minimalistic furniture. A narrow sliding door lead to a tiny bathroom big enough to fit only one person at a time, but it was all they needed for a one night stop-off; in twelve hours Kakashi and Sakura would be back on the road again.

Sakura untied her headband and tousled her pink locks with her fingers to free them of tangles. It always felt like the end of the day when she got to take off the metal-plated band and she sighed contently, glad to be stopped for the night. "I'm hitting the baths," she said to Kakashi and grabbed one of the complimentary robes from the hanger on the back of the door on her way out.

They were the only ones staying at the inn, apart from the little old lady who ran the place, so when Sakura reached the steaming pools of hot water, she had the entire room to herself. The kunoichi stripped off and left her clothes in a pile by the edge of the pool before easing herself into the soothing water. Her skin tingled against the heat and gave her instant goosebumps. She hummed her approval and when she was shoulder deep, leant back to douse her cropped hair as relaxation washed over her. The water helped to cure the tightness in her muscles from two days of constant travel and with a little bit of help from her chakra, she could almost feel the lactic acid evaporating from her limbs.

Sakura drifted back against the tiled edge and rested her neck against the corner. She closed her eyes and let the steam melt over her.

* * *

Kakashi finished his routine circle around the inn and found everything in order; it was something he did whenever he was on a mission to avoid running into any ambushes. After taking his own bath, he returned to their room and changed into dark sweat pants. He left his mask in place as usual but didn't bother with a shirt as the night air felt refreshing against his clean skin. At the end of the hall a sliding door opened onto a balcony that overlooked an outdoor pool and judging by the lack of steam rising from the water, Kakashi guessed it was some kind of rock pool.

Making sure no one was around to see him, he pulled his mask down around his neck, drew a single cigarette from his pocket and lit up. The smoke dulled his senses and it was more relaxing than the best hot spring in the entire world. He rested his elbows on the rail and watched the water rippling in the rock pool below. A pale blue light shone from under the surface and cast glowing reflections of the water onto the surrounding rocks. The Copy-nin exhaled slowly with a sigh, eye lids heavy, and watched the smoke disappear into the dark night before drawing in another lungful of his guilty pleasure.

He didn't particularly like the taste, or the way the smoke clung to his clothes and hair, or the way it reminded him of his late friend. He liked the feel. He liked the way it made him crave it, the way he could control the smoke and the way it gave him something to rely on when everything else around him was out of control. Kakashi let the smoke bury itself inside him and released it again with another grey exhale.

He let his mind run wild with a million thoughts and it wasn't until his cigarette was no more than a dying stump that he was jolted back to the present by the sound of a door sliding open somewhere beneath him. Clouds of steam billowed out into the clear night and through the haze Kakashi could just make out the silhouette of a woman walking towards the rock pool. She had a towel wrapped around her body that was scarcely long enough to cover her ass and as she walked the material lifted with every step, threatening to reveal what it was covering.

The woman approached the edge of the rock pool and tested the water with her toe, then, without warning, she let her towel drop and land behind her heels. Kaskahi's brows raised slightly in approval and his eyes instantly combed over her body; her skin was so creamy and fair that it almost glowed against the pale moonlight. And her legs, long and toned, melded seamlessly to the curve of her hips that lead up to the pinch of her tiny waist. She was so gracefully sculpted that it almost hurt. He took another draw on what was left of his cigarette and thought about how easy it would be to throw one of those perfect legs over his shoulder, or how well his hands could grip her waist or ass.

His jaw tightened as he watched her slender hands flex by her sides and then slide up into pink locks...

_Oh shit._

Kakashi's heart stopped and he nearly choked on his exhale. He clumsily stubbed his cigarette out and escaped inside, shocked that he'd just been standing there ogling his former student for god knows how long. He'd been so distracted by her naked body that he hadn't even realised who she was, despite the fact that he _knew_ they were only guests staying at the bath house that night.

He ran this hands through his messy hair and pressed his palms to his temple as he paused to think for a moment. It was an honest mistake. With the steam pouring from the bathroom he supposed it may have disguised her at first so there was no way he could have known any sooner than he did... Or so he hopelessly tried to convince himself. If it was any other woman, he would still be out there eyeing her over and letting his mind form all kinds of perverted fantasies. Hell, he might have even gone down to join her to see if he could turn any of them into a reality.

But it wasn't any other woman. It was _Sakura_. Little Sakura that he'd known since the delicate age of twelve. Sure he hardly ever thought of her as that same little girl anymore; he was more than aware of how mature and strong she had become over the years, but now he was aware of her physical changes as well... And that the naked sight of his student made him want to do all kinds of wondrously inappropriate things to her... And that he was fourteen years her senior.

Kakashi groaned in defeat and ground the heels of his palms into his tired eyes. He felt like a dirty old man and figured he wasn't anything less since he knew it would be impossible to rid the image of Sakura's body from his mind. He cursed under his breath and replaced his mask as he headed back down the hall to their room, thinking about how right Pakkun had been when he'd warned his master that his bad habits would eventually lead him to trouble. If only he had known exactly what _sort_ of trouble was in store for him, he never would have picked up another cigarette. Then again, it wasn't like what he'd seen had exactly been unpleasant...

* * *

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